Does HIFU treatment for fat removal help with a stage 1 lipedema?

Lipedema is an inflammatory subcutaneous adipose disease of the arms and legs. Treatment should be comprehensive and include a low-refined carbohydrate diet, low-impact exercise, and medical-grade compression. These nonsurgical treatments should be started and maintained for the rest of your life. For women with symptoms not controlled by conservative treatments, surgery can improve pain, mobility, and knee and limb functions. It is possible that Lipedema Reduction Surgery can prevent the progression of lipedema.
HIFU and Cryotherapy are marginally effective treatments for cosmetic changes. HIFU uses Ultrasound energy that could possibly increase Lipedema tissue inflammation. Cryotherapy can cause rebound PAH Paradoxical Adipose Hypertrophy and I believe that the risk of this is great in lipedema. The best and proven nonsurgical treatments for lipedema include a low-refined carbohydrate diet, low-impact exercise, and medical-grade compression. Wishing you the best of health.

Dear OneLittleBoat,
it is hard to tell for sure without an examination. Generally speaking, liposcution might be a good option for lipedema. If you are considering a surgery, I would suggest you to consult a board-certified plastic surgeon. Only after a thorough examination you will get more information and recommendations.
Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

lipedema needs skin removal and/or liposuction depending on the stage. my early stages also do RF treatments like venus legacy, forma/contour, or exilis. Best, Dr. Emer.

The only treatment that can potentially help you as well done Liposuction.

Lower extremity Liposuction especially areas like the inner thigh tendon not Giving impressive results and this is especially true in people with skin laxity.

Most patients with lipedema have significant skin laxity and flabby tissues. The contour improvements often don’t look much better but patients can get size reduction to fit better into clothing.

You can investigate all you want but there is very very little unbiased information available on the Internet for patients regarding treatment options. Your best bet is having in person consultations with experienced board-certified plastic surgeons.

Most likely you will get the same consistent response which is Liposuction is the gold standard and really only realistic treatment option. It’s a fairly simple procedure to have done and recover from. My practice has been focused exclusively on Liposuction for over a decade and I’ve personally performed over 7000 Liposuction procedures.

Without pictures we cannot make an assessment.

I suggest scheduling multiple in person consultations with local board-certified plastic surgeons Bubba proven track record with Liposuction based on numerous before and after pictures.

I’m assuming this is in regards to your lower extremity’s. Keep in mind that lower extremity Liposuction typically has a far lower patient satisfaction than other anatomic areas.

Best,

Mats Hagstrom MD